Steam-engine.



' 115,768,548. PATENTED AUG. 23, 1904.

H. J. STAAB. STEAM ENGINE.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 16, 1902.

: N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

alwento'c UNITED STATES Patented August 23, 1904.

HARRY J. STAAB', OF SNYDERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part' of Letters Patent No. 768,548, dated August 23, 1904.

Application filed July 15,1902. Serial No. 115,725. (No model.)

T all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY J. STAAB, a citizen of the United States, residing at Snyd'ersburg, in the county of Clarion and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to steam-engines, and particularly to a slide-valve having means for shifting the position of the same in the steamchest at the end of each stroke of the piston bythe action of parts which are arranged in the interior of the cylinder and operated by the piston; and the primary object of'the sameis to. provide a simple and effective arrangement of ports and steam-passages leading from the steam-chest and to the exhaust cavity or port whereby the supply and exhaust of'stearn may be effectively carried on and the stroke of the piston rendered regular with advantage inv its driving efiect.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the several parts, which will be more fullyhereinafter described and claimed.

In thedrawings, Figure 1 is a side. elevation. of a. cylinder and steamchest, forming part of a steam-engine and embodying the features of the invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the same, showing the piston within the cylinder at the end of its'forward stroke. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section through the cylinder and chest and valve or slide in the latter, illustrating the exhaust-cavity and its outlet. Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the cylinder and chest with the cover-plate of the latter detached and the. valve; or slide removed. Fig. 5. is a. bottom plan view of the slide or valve. Fig. 6. is a degail perspective view of one of the tappetro s.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in the several views. I

The numeral 1 designates a cylinder having opposite heads 2, the central upper portion of the cylinder being vertically thickened for a purpose which will be presently set forth. Over the upper vertically-thickened portion of the cylinder a steam-chest 3 is disposed and the operation of the engine,

obvious reasons.

"hasa cover-plate 4 bolted thereto. Within the cylind'er'is a piston 5, having a piston-rod 6, movable through a suitable stufling-box and adapted to be connected to mechanical: driving elements of any preferred form. The bottom of the steam-chest 3 has a pair of transversely-extending narrow ports 8" and -9 formed therein and communicating with steam-feeding passages 10' and 11, communicating with opposite ends of the cylinder 1,

as clearly shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4:, the

said passage-ways 10 and 11 extending inopposite directions longitudinally through the upper portion of the cylinder. The said bottom of the steam-chest is also formed with longitudinally-aimed rectangular sockets 12 and 13, and between the. inner terminals of said sockets is an exhaust-cavity 1 1, with which an outletconduit 15 communicates and extends through the one side of the. chest. A suitable pipe or other device may be attached to the conduit 15v to convey theexhaust-steam away fromthe chest to any suitable point desired. Communicating with the outer terminals of the sockets 12 and 13 are longitudinally extending bores 16, having angular ex-- tensions 17 at. their outer ends, which communicate with the upper part of the. cylinder. The formation of thebores 16 and the sockets 12 and 13 do not interfere in the least. with as there are no communicating passages orways between the sockets. 12 and 13, the. exhaust-cavity 14, or the ports 8 and 9.

Within thesteam-chest 3 a slide-valve 18 is mounted and has a transverse extent approximately equal to the interior of the said chest and of less length than the latter, it being understood that the said valve will bev supplied with suitable side packings, if necessary, for Extending inwardly from one side of thevalve 18 is a rectangular recess. 19, having a width less than the distance between the ports 8 and 9, and adjacent. to the; opposite side walls of the said recessare: cavities 20 and 21, which are longitudinally alined and adapted to move. over the ports. 8 and 9..

Adjacent to the opposite side of thevalve are, I depending guides 22. and 23 to respectively depend and haveslidingmovementin the sockets 12 and 13, the latter being guides to compensate for the movement of the valve.. The valve also has a pair of narrow transversely-extending exhaust-ports 24 and 25 between the inner ends of the guides 22 and 23 to alternately communicate with the exhaust-cavity 14, the cavities and 21 being respectively connected to the ports 24 and 25 by passages 26 and 27. .(Shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5.) The inner ends of slidable tappet-rods 28 extend into longitudinal openings 29 in the lower portions of the guides 22 and 23 and are held in connected relation to the latter by bolt-rods 30, projecting downwardly through the valve and guides. These tappet-rods extend through and move in the bores 16 and have outer depending angular terminals 31, which project downwardly through the extensions 17 of the .bores 16 for engagement by the piston 5.

Extending into the steam-chest 3 through a bore 36 is a crank-lever 35, having an operating handle or member 34 disposed outside the steam-chest and a vertical crank member 37 disposed inside the steam-chest and formed with a suitable cam-head 38, which fits into a slot 39 in the sliding valve 18. The cranklever serves to shift the valve 18 when it is desired to reverse the movement of the engine or to place the valve in position for starting.

Steam is fed into the chest 3 from a generating source through the medium of a feed pipe 40 and passes downwardly through the recess 19 in the valve 18 to either of the ports 8 or 9 which may be exposed through the said recess and then through the passages 10 and 11 against the outer face of the piston to shift the latter in alternation in opposite directions, the exhaust taking place also through the passages 10 and 11 in alternation. The exhaust enters either of the cavities 20 o 21 through the ports 8 or 9 in accordance with the position of the valve and the communication of the cavities with the ports, and from either of the cavities the exhaust escapes through the passages or ways 26 and 27 to the ports 24 or 25 and from the latter enters the exhaust-cavity 14 and escapes. As the piston 5 arrives at opposite ends of the cylinder it strikes the terminals 31 of the tappet-rods 28 and shifts the valve 18 in corresponding directions, and, as shown by Fig. 2, the said piston has arrived at the right end of the cylinder, the port 8 having been previously opened to permit steam to enter the cylinder through the passage 10 behind the piston, and the exhaust at such time in front of the piston or in advance of the right face thereof was effected through the port 9, cavity 20 of the valve 18, and exhaust-port 24, the latter under such conditions being in communication with the cavity 14. As soon as the piston arrives at the right end. of the cylinder and engages the adjacent terminal 31 of the right tappet-rod 28 the valve 18 is moved to the right and opens the port 9 to longer than the the steam in the chest 3 to permit the steam to enter the cylinder through the passage 1 I, behind or against the right face of the piston 5, and simultaneously the cavity 21 is drawn over and communicates with the port 8, so that the charge of steam which drove the piston to the right will be exhausted through the passage 10, port 8, cavity 21, passage 27, and exhaust-port 25, the latter then being in communication with the cavity 14. This operation becomes successive, and the piston is regularly actuated. It will be observed that the steam entering the cylinder to propel the piston is permitted to exert its full expansive force before exhaust thereof ensues, with a consequent economy in the use of steam. A further advantage is that the means for operating the slide-valve 18 are fully inclosed within the cylinder, and the necessity of using exterior devices for this purpose is avoided. To prevent an air-cushion being formed ahead of the piston in either of its strokes, grooves 33 are formed in the lower central part of the cylinder adjacent to the heads and of greater length than the width of the piston, the said grooves permitting the air to escape into the cylinder behind the piston and pass out through the exhaust ports or bores.

The improved construction and arrangement of parts is adapted for general use and comparatively inexpensive in the cost of manufacture.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a steam-engine, the combination of a cylinder having an upper vertically-thickened portion with a central upwardly-projecting steam-chest thereover, the bottom of the chest and adjacent part of the thickened portion of the cylinder being formed with longitud inal lyalined sockets having bores leading outwardly therefrom and communicating with the opposite extremities of the cylinder, and an exhaust-cavity between the inner ends of the sockets, and a pair of ports communicating with passages also leading to opposite extremities of the cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, a slide-valve mounted in the chest and having depending guides extending into the sockets and also formed with a recess extending inwardly from one side thereof, and cavities on opposite sides of said recess, a pair of exhaust-ports also formed in the valve adjacent to the side opposite that having the recess therein and connected by passages with the cavities in the valve, and tappet-rods extending through the lower portions of the guides and movable in the said bores, the outer ends of the tappet-rods movably depending into opposite extremities of the cylinder for engagement by the piston.

2. In a steam-engine, the combination of a cylinder having a steam-chest rising from the upper portion thereof and provided with ports and passages communicating with opposite extremities of the cylinder and sockets and an intermediateexhaust-cavity, a slide-valve having cavities ports in communication with said cavities and guides movably depending into 5 the said sockets, tappet-rods movably extending through the upper portion of the cylinder and connected to the guides, the said tappetrods having outer depending terminals exposed Within opposite extremities of the cyl- IO 'indei', a piston movably mounted in the cylinder and adapted to engage the terminals of the tappet-rods, and means for reversing the position of the valve at the end of the stroke of the piston.

I In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in I 5 presence of two witnesses v HARRY J. STAAB. Witnesses:

E. G. FALQON, .J. S. SAXTON. 

